The Tournament of the Brave
by Namiaber
Summary: Serah, Snow, and Lightning are held in the Coliseum by the Arbiter of Time as hostages. To get free, they must defeat all their opponents. First Final Fantasy post. Discontinued.
1. Introduction

**Note: This is my first Final Fantasy Fanfiction. I will do my best, and with that said...please no flames. Still fairly new to writing, and I know I'll make mistakes. Please let me know so I can learn. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 13 and 13-2. Wish I did, would love to see behind the scenes!**

Serah's Prized Crystal

Traveling through the Void Beyond, Noel and Serah felt a strong pull that drew them to the Coliseum. Trying to fight it, both were knocked unconscious as they struggled against whatever force was pulling them. When they woke up, Serah's eyes got wide as she stared at the ceiling of what she recognized as the Coliseum. Hearing some heavy footsteps coming quickly towards her, she tried to get up but wasn't able to get out of the way of a bear hug. Pushing and struggling against the other, she relaxed as she heard a very familiar voice, and noticed a very familiar wedding band necklace.

"Serah! Are you okay? That's was a nasty landing!" Looking at her fiancée's face, she returned the hug tightly. Snow was here, and she felt safe and comfortable in his arms. Closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of being in his arms again, safe and sound, made her relax even more before she answered him.

"Snow, what happened? Why are we here?" Liking that he'd recognized the fear in her voice and started to rub her back gently, the two saw Noel disappear into nothing. Serah gasped, obviously afraid. "Noel!" She felt Snow tighten his arms around her, not liking what had just happened. "Snow…what…just happened?" Trembling at the sight of her friend disappearing, Snow was clueless.

"Your friend is no longer alive. The past wrote him out of the future." A dark, menacing voice said. Snow and Serah looked in unison as a golden yellowish distortion appeared and a familiar figure exited. "As you already know, I am the Arbiter of Time…and you two are my prisoners until the Tournament of the Brave begins." Feeling Snow tense up, Serah watched as he charged at their captor. Not surprisingly, a familiar green protection field came up as well, knocking Snow back. "And it's not my fault what happened to the boy, all of you have been interfering with the timeline to correct it, which is admirable, but as you change the future you also change the past. Did you not know that? His parent's simply chose another spouse and as a result, he was never born." Serah quietly stood, walking over to her captor.

"Yeul said the same thing in Oerba. Noel…" Feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder, she hugged Snow as the two stayed here. They couldn't leave, but they could at least enjoy their time together.

"The Tournament of the Brave beings in three days. By then, all the worthy will be here. I suggest you rest while you wait." And with that, the Arbiter of Time disappeared. Snow guided Serah towards the bleachers and let her sit on his lap, thinking of how to get out of this mess. Serah was quietly crying.

Noel had been a born fighter since his world was literally a 'survival of the fittest' world. She often would hold him back in some way, and wasn't nearly as skilled. Her monster crystals were okay. The best crystal she had was a Circutron, but wasn't anywhere near Noel's level. She was in huge trouble here. Snow and Light could easily take care of themselves, but she…she could only do maybe a fourth of what others could do. Starting to subconsciously shake, Snow rubbed her back. He knew that she was scared.

**Timeskip: Two Days**

Serah and Snow were sitting on their part of the bleachers, looking at some of the other 'contestants'. She recognized no one, and all of them looked very strong. She knew something bad was going to happen soon. Nothing good could come of this. Nothing.

Mog was sitting in her lap, having found her yesterday. Petting his head lightly and hugging him, she looked up only to gasp.

Snow also gasped then grinned. Here, making her way through the crowd was Lightning. Serah was confused why she was wearing her Guardian Corps uniform when the dream she'd had seen Lightning in much more impressive gear. Lightning was walking straight toward them, behind her Amodar and Nabaat were talking. Before she could stop herself, Serah ran. Lightning was coming towards her, and she would finish the gap. Running and feeling tears begin to fall, she bear hugged Lightning.

"Serah, what did he do this time? I told him to take care of you, not break your heart." Slightly confused, the two locked eyes as Serah started to decipher everything. Stepping away from Light, Serah's eyes became downcast. "Serah? What's wrong?" Serah realized this Lightning wasn't the same as the one she wanted to free from Valhalla.

"Light, Snow's been cheering me up. My battle partner died, and I'm captive here by the Arbiter of Time. Snow is too." Light's eyes softened as she formulated a plan in her head. It was true that she knew she wasn't the real Claire 'Lightning' Farron, but her feelings were real. She had the real one's memories up until Valhalla, and felt like Serah really was her sister. "I'm scared. You know I'm not a fighter…Noel did all the fighting." Noel huh, that must have been the battle partner. Stepping close, she hugged Serah tightly.

"Don't worry Serah. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you." Serah gave her one of the smiles that she loved-a true smile. Both women walked back to the bleachers and sat with Snow. When they had sat down, the determination in Snow's eyes perked Serah's attention.

"Snow? What's up? You look determined." He pumped his arms before smiling at both of them (adding a wink to Light for good measure). Serah smiled back before tilting her head to the side.

"Well, I've decided that I'm gonna team up with you Serah. That way, no worries right?" It was Lightning's turn to tilt her head, as she pondered doing the same. She knew that Nabaat would tear Serah up, and Amodar had been nasty to her when he found out…about her being a L'Cie. She'd never forgotten that during her journey.

**Flash Back: Cocoon, Palumpolum-Lightning and Hope going to tunnels**

"Sir, this isn't right! We don't kill civilians in Bodhum! There is no reason to obey this order!" A GC soldier yelled at Amodar. They had been brought from Bodhum to help with the L'Cie threat here. They didn't even know if the L'Cie were here or not, only some PSICOM information that he doubted even existed. Amodar frowned at his soldier; he didn't want to be here either, but orders were orders.

"YOU'RE SOLDIERS! ACT LIKE IT AND FOLLOW YOUR ORDERS!" His squad saluted and dispersed. Ever since Farron had suddenly resigned, he'd been in a foul mood. She usually did all this for him, and now he had to. Grumbling and returning to his tent to get his weapon, he saw his favorite ex-soldier running from them with a younger teenager in tow. Running after her, he was getting his answers!

"SARGENT FARRON! GET YOURSELF OVER HERE!" She froze, and he could see that she was nervous. Why was she nervous? He knew that she knew that she was his favorite, so why all the nervousness? Was it because she resigned? "I SAID GET OVER HERE FARRON! DON'T MAKE ME SAY IT AGAIN!" Seeing the young boy scamper, she faced him and came over.

"Lieutenant? I resigned sir. I am no longer in the army." He gave her a look that said 'bull pucky'. She was glad that Anima had branded her under her shirt. She hoped that they didn't know that she was their enemy, a Pulse L'Cie.

"Farron, I want answers! Why did you resign?" She sighed…how to break the news to him without getting herself killed. She decided to tell the reason, he didn't need to know about the magic right?

"Lieutenant, I had to resign due to my sister. She was being purged, and I needed to protect her. You know how important she is to me." There, the truth, and nothing said about being the enemy now.

"Okay. Next question, why didn't you tell me. Why resign to PSICOM?" Oh boy, he wasn't satisfied with that answer. Lightning knew he was fishing. She needed to once again use the truth and avoid the Pulse Fal'Cie.

"Um, I needed to board the train to The Hanging Edge and they wouldn't let me on unless I quit." Oh how she wish she'd changed out of her uniform…but fighting in pajamas was suicidal. And she wanted to reunite with Hope. There was something off about his anger, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Why were you running just now?" Oh great, he'd finally asked the one question she'd have to lie about. Oh joy…

"I was in a hurry." Not a complete lie…just not the complete truth. At his look she knew to continue. He hated getting an answer like the one she'd just given, and she knew it. "Since I'm a civilian, I was trying to get to safety in case the Pulse L'Cie show up. I'm trying to stay clear of them." Oh, she was so doomed now. "Good to see you again, gotta go!" And with that she ran up the hill to rejoin Hope. Upon reaching the top, they encountered a motorized car flying up to them. Crap, they'd been made. And she could feel Amodar's eyes on her.

Three minutes later, the car and two PSICOM flyers were dead. Lightning continued to push Hope into the tunnel and hopefully to safety. She finally stopped about five minutes in when she was sure that they were not being pursued. Approaching Carbuncle Lightning stopped when she heard heavy footsteps.

"Farron, you? Why?" Letting a breath out, she turned around and faced this head on. Seeing an angry glare on her ex-commanding officer's face, she calmly started her reply.

"Lieutenant, my sister was the original Pulse L'Cie in Bodhum. When we rescued her she turned into crystal. In my anger, I went to attack the Fal'Cie responsible and ended up a L'Cie. Now, like her, I'm an enemy of the state, just because I was branded by Pulse." She was about to continue when he withdrew his weapon, eyes hard. "Lieutenant! Don't do this!" She yelled, the last thing she wanted was fight him.

"As you said, you're an enemy now. I've gotta set an example for my troops." She couldn't believe this. She and Hope began to withdraw their weapons when Amodar dropped his. "But Farron, my troops are being controlled by PSICOM, I'm here on my own. While it's my job to deal with you, I don't have the attack group I need. If I see you again, I will attack you!" Running away, she knew that they were lucky…but it unsettled her deeply to think that even Amodar was ready to kill her.

**Time Skip: Start of Tournament of the Brave**

**That's a wrap for Chapter 1! Hope to have Chapter 2 up soon, and I'll listen to all suggestions thrown at me. **

**Please remember to review! Those help a bunch!**


	2. Let the tournament begin!

**Tournament of the Brave, Chapter 2**

Finally appearing to the contestants, the Arbiter of Time slowly made his way to the center of the Coliseum, staff in hand. Lightning had decided to protect Serah and had officially joined her team along with Snow. Amodar hadn't taken the news well, but had teamed up with Nabaat. Serah was fidgeting badly as her nervousness finally caught up with her. Lightning immediately put a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. About to say something, the Arbiter of Time beat her to it.

"Welcome everyone to the Tournament of the Brave! The rules are simple, the only one is not to hurt me in any way during your fight. If you do, I'll banish you into the Void Beyond until the next tournament starts. I see our returning champion team, The BOOM-Bets, as well as some of the banished teams. And we welcome our newest teams, the Ousted and the Defenders! Please…let everyone show them that this tournament is the most vicious and deadly tournament ever in existence! I will now let my staff pick the first fight." Lightning, Serah, and Snow watched as the staff levitated and flew, picking a strange robot named Omega then picked a seemingly empty area.

Raising a pink eyebrow, Lightning had sensed something under there; a powerful opponent. It was a fairly new skill that she did not have on the journey with the other L'Cie. As she felt the opponent come closer to the surface, she got a very bad feeling. This enemy was dangerous. Suddenly feeling protective, she put her hand on Serah's leg and tightened her hand. As the enemy emerged, a bazooka was set off by him, straight at where they were sitting. Using her hand on Serah's leg as a boost, she jumped to the railing and pulled out her favorite gunblade, Lion's Heart, and shot a bullet to blow the bazooka's head up. Looking down at Serah, she saw Snow trying to relieve her of the shock she was going into. Sitting back down, Lightning rubbed Serah's back, trying to help Snow.

"GILGAMESH! DO NOT FIRE ON OTHER CONTESTANTS UNLESS THEY ARE IN THIS RING!" Lightning cringed as the Arbiter of Time yelled at him. She didn't remember having such sensitive hearing, but then again (even though she hated to admit it) she wasn't the real Lightning. Only a copy…a lonely, scared copy on the inside. As long as she could fight and be focused on something, she barely thought about it. "THREE, TWO, ONE, START!" The two opponents started by circling each other, wanting to see who would make the first move.

It didn't take long for Gilgamesh to strike. Using all six weapons he had, he fired them with ease at Omega. After he ran out of ammo, Omega had taken no damage apparently. Seeing the six-armed giant laugh, the area around him suddenly changed as six swords came up from the floor, all very deadly and sharp. Omega, having no fear, began to fire on Gilgamesh as though it was unimpressed, all the while Gilgamesh charged at Omega. A swift second later there were major scratches and wires exposed from the machine. Giving a harsh laugh as he was declared the victor, Omega vanished on the spot into the Void Beyond. As the giant moved to a clear spot on the benches, Lightning had a gut feeling that they'd have to face Gilgamesh down the road. Part of her welcomed the challenge; the other part wanted not to so Serah would stay safe. It made her remember how much Serah had always relied on her for protection.

**FLASHBACK – BODHUM, COCOON**

Serah ran home with tears streaming her eyes, wanting to know why she always got bullied. It wasn't her fault that she had pink hair. It wasn't her fault that Claire was so tough and brave…while she wasn't. It wasn't her fault that all the kids in her class thought she was strange, right? Finally seeing her home come up, she ran inside and went to the couch, crying as always. Claire wouldn't be home from school for some time, and she'd cry until then.

Claire walked home from her competition puzzled. Serah didn't come and watch like she'd promised. While part of her was happy that she'd finally broken dork-face's nose, part of her was sad that Serah had never come to watch. She knew that she'd told Serah and that Serah had promised. As she passed the park where Serah usually played, she visibly frowned when Serah was not there either. As she got close, she overheard some of Serah's classmates boasting. And she didn't pay attention until one of them boasted about once again picking on the 'strange, pink-haired crybaby' again. She stopped and hid, listening to them.

"Can you believe that baby is in our class? We should think of some new ways to bully her. Before long, we'll be able to wash the board with her tears as many as she cries!" He laughed, as did his two friends. Claire's eyes narrowed and she made to go home. Serah would most certainly be there.

Serah had always been very sensitive and cautious, the very opposite of her. Claire was rude, loud, and even obnoxious at times. Arriving at home, she heard crying as she entered and sighed. The fourteen-year-old just didn't know what to do at times about Serah. Ever since their parent's had died two years ago, Claire had noticed Serah had suffered ever since. As she rounded the corner and saw said sister, she sat down and rubbed Serah's back soothingly.

"Serah, what's wrong?" Even though she knew (and wanted to beat those bullies up), she still wanted for Serah to tell her. Two blue sets of eyes locked with each other as Serah got up and hugged Claire. Claire could tell by how Serah was shaking that it was pretty bad. Once Serah began to calm down, she gratefully took some of the water Claire brought her. "Looks like you're feeling better now, that's good." Serah nodded and smiled.

"Well, Claire, after I finished explaining my project you helped me with, everything was okay until the teacher got called to the office. After she left, the boys started to call me lollipop again. I told them to stop, but then they added strawberry. I got mad and yelled at them to stop, but they started to laugh at me and say strawberry lollipop louder and louder until I couldn't hear myself. I just sat down and started to cry. Once we were done, they followed me outside school and continued to call me that horrid name. Eventually I just ran here and flopped on the couch." Claire now understood what had really happened. Since they had pink hair, Serah had undoubtedly become sensitive to the subject. It had never bothered her, but Serah was another story.

"Serah, don't worry. Our pink hair makes us special and loveable. They pick on you because they like you." Okay…Claire officially needed to read some Help-for-Dummies books. This had never been her strong suit.

**Present: Day 1 Tournament of the Brave**

The Arbiter of Time had come to the center of the Coliseum once again and had announced that his staff would once again pick the next battle. The staff levitated and pointed towards Team Cieth Flyers and then towards Team Serah. Snow and Lightning smiled (almost to the point of being feral) while Serah nervously got up and followed them. The two teams arrived in the center to start.

Lightning immediately took point and said to begin in Ruthless strategy. The flyers formed a wide triangle, so that Serah, Snow, and Lightning were encircled. As the battle started, Lightning threw a Librascope on the three enemies, and the three started on their strategy. Serah started to cast Deprotect on the flyer closest to them, Nadria. Seeing that it wasn't working, she tried Deshell. Still no luck. Curse, Slow, Fog, Pain, and Daze several times with no luck. Lightning then signaled to go to Relentless Assault and focus on building the chain gauge. As the trio dealt massive damage to the cieth, they finally did enough damage to stagger Nadria. Lightning signaled to go back to Ruthless and Serah found it was much easier to debilitate this time. After Nadria had Deprotect, Deshell, Imperil, Poison, Pain, Fog, Slow, and Curse, the trio went to Aggression-X. As Nadria was about to recover, both Lightning and Snow did a final thrust and managed to defeat Nadria. Nadria went to the outer ring and sat down, looking down at the floor like she was sad. Almost crying.

Seeing Nadria was defeated, Lightning ordered to go to Diversity as they focused on the next nearest enemy, Huenva. Huenva and the other one, seeing Nadria had been defeated, went from doing simple attacks to doing specialized attacks. As they started to charge for an attack, Lightning and Snow attacked Huenva while Serah healed everyone from the attacks that Nadria, Huenva, and Kihel had done. Once everyone's cuts were mended and no longer bleeding, Lightning ordered to go to Bully. Snow began to cast Haste, Protect, Shell, and Veil on everyone while Serah successfully hit and cast Deprotect, Deshell, Imperil, and Slow on Huenva. Now in Relentless Assault, Huenva and Kihel had finished charging up and started to fly quickly towards Serah. Their wings glowed an angry red from their special attacks. Snow didn't catch on as quickly, but Lightning knew exactly what was going on. They were doing the same strategy to them; taking out the weakest. Running quickly towards Serah, Kihel had arrived and unleashed her special attack, Maelstrom, on the younger pinkette. A force-field like barrier surrounded Serah that prevented Lightning from entering to protect her sister. Snow and Lightning cringed when they saw massive winds from an Aeroga-like spell materialize and a massive tidal wave come at Serah from both sides to do a pincer attack. Feeling rage boil up inside her at not being able to protect Serah, Lightning started to attack the invisible barrier in vain. Nothing she did was working, and Serah would be defeated if this attack went through. Gathering all her strength, Lightning did an all-intensive strike and broke through. Running towards Serah as fast as she could, the Aeroga-like attack already hit and knocked Serah out. Lightning sensed that the tidal wave was more powerful than the Aeroga-like attack. Right as she reached Serah, she shoved her younger sister out of the way as the tidal wave hit her.

Serah awoke when a sharp pain erupted in her stomach. Seeing Lightning trapped in a tidal wave she screamed. She and Snow were so focused on Light that they didn't see Huenva unleashed her special attack, Hailstorm, and did massive lightning attacks on Lightning. Lightning felt drained and tired, as she was frozen in a massive prison of ice that slowly began to sap the heat in her body. She was powerless right now. She couldn't move. Her back was to Serah and Snow, so she couldn't see.

Serah couldn't believe that Light was saved her. It should have been her in there. Slowly getting up and going to War & Peace, she began to heal herself as Snow started to work on Huenva whose debuffs were beginning to dissipate. As Serah healed she and Snow up, they switched to Divide & Conquer so Serah could reapply the debuffs. As Huenva now had the sufficient debuffs, Snow switched to Slash & Burn and they started to build the chain gauge up. Both were suffering without Lightning, who was slowly being drained in her enclosure. Serah continually had to switch between Slash & Burn and War & Peace paradigms. As they finally staggered Huenva, Snow ordered to go to Double Trouble-X to try and defeat the cieth. Snow attacked with his fists (thankful that he was wearing a Power Glove), while Serah sent many Ruins to Huenva. They both sensed that the staggered cieth was about to recover from being staggered, so Snow did his special attack, Sovereign Fist, as a desperate measure to defeat Huenva. It worked. Seeing Huenva join Nadria and look like it was crying, they focused on Kihel. Snow had guessed a while ago that this cieth was one that was more or less an Undying. He hoped he was wrong, the Undying were bad enough when he had Fang and Light to help him.

Serah was feeling tired. She had never had to use this much magic at once, and had easily gone through two days worth of monster slaying just on the two cieth they'd defeated. Struggling to stay sharp, she chanced a look back at Light and felt hope when she saw the ice had almost completely melted. Light would be free soon, and then Kihel would be defeated. Looking back at said monster, she couldn't find it or Snow. Feeling panicked, she looked everywhere. No luck. Deciding to help Light get out of the ice prison, she tried to run but ended up doing a brisk walk to her sister. Summoning some Fire spells, she aimed for the least dense spots she could see.

Snow wondered where Kihel had taken him. It looked like the Void Beyond a little, but also like the Historia Crux. Flying, the best word he could think of, towards nowhere in particular, a time distortion appeared and he found himself in Oerba. Looking ahead as he could now walk, he saw three Gran Pulsians around a campfire.

"Nadria, this isn't fair! Why did Anima make us L'Cie? Wasn't it bad enough that momma got turned into one and is now in the floating Viper Nest?" Snow gasped; they were fighting either Fang or Vanille's children.

"Huenva, I know you miss mom, so do I, but we have to carry out our focus. If we beat that group of Goblins that's been causing trouble for us, we'll be turned to crystal and hopefully join our moms in the future." Nadria nodded, a tear sliding down her cheek. "Besides, Kihel is here with us as well. The best Hunter we have! There's no way we're turning cieth today!"

"You got that right, Nadria. I refuse to be an abomination. I will always be human, that is MY focus!" Both turned to look at Kihel; Snow had to admit she reminded him of Fang and Light. She had many more scars than Fang, battle scars. "Besides, I don't mind this curse. I finally get to know what magic is like." Nadria and Huenva felt that mouth drop open in shock; while Kihel was the best Hunter, a rumor said she was also slightly crazy. Apparently, it was true now.

"Well, I'm not gonna let this brand grow any; let's go clobber those Globins!" Nadria, putting on a brave face, started to go. Huenva and Kihel followed without a word.

Snow saw the Undying come out, having watch her memory. They had already defeated Fang's son and Vanille's daughter. Kihel though, was not blood related to Fang or Vanille. Snow had set his mind-he would save Nadria and Huenva. They would see their moms again, even if it was just their crystal.

Rolling up his sleeve a little to expose his L'Cie brand, it glowed slightly as Kihel charged at him. Snow saw he was suddenly back in the Coliseum, and jumped out of the way as Kihel finally reached him. Kihel slammed into the Arbiter of Time and was immediately banished for hurting the 'referee'. As Snow looked at Light's prison, Serah was over there helping Light out of it. He began to make his way over there, when Serah screamed.

Lightning was so very tired. She had been drained of most of her energy thanks to that prison. Closing her eyes, they shot back open when Serah screamed. Seeing Serah, then Snow, then the Coliseum fade away, she felt a tug on her as she traveled the Void Beyond towards her destination. Seeing a strange, crystal-like substance surrounding her, she arrived in Valhalla. And cringed when she saw who had tugged her here: the real Claire "Lightning" Farron. And that armor absolutely scared her.

**Well everyone, that's chapter 2. I thought of a few things that might need to be explained. This is a crossover between FF13 and FF13-2. The Lightning in the Coliseum represents the FF13 Lightning. However, she is created by Valhalla Lightning (FF13-2) to protect Serah. Although she doesn't know it, Valhalla Lightning can see everything she does and manipulate her. They are linked together, so to say.**

**Why is Noel not in this fanfiction?**

**I must admit I have a hard time writing him. It was easier to do Snow and Lightning as Serah's partner's in the tournament.**

**I would definitely appreciate any reviews. I am always looking to improve my skill, but no reviews for chapter 1 is quite discouraging. If no reviews go to chapter 2, then I am discontinuing it.**


	3. Don't make any Ceith angry!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 13 or 13-2.

AN: I would like to thank MangaTriela for the nice review. Reviews do keep me motivated to write, so please review after reading.

**Tournament of the Brave, Chapter 3**

Nadria and Huenva looked at Snow and Serah when they heard the younger one scream for her older sister. Beginning to fly once again, they were suddenly anchored down. Looking down, they both saw the beginnings of becoming crystallized. The two looked at each other, then over at the winning team. Both were suddenly glad that they weren't the target of the younger pinkette; she was currently seething an angry red aura that was focused at the Arbiter of Time.

Serah screamed as she saw Lightning disappear from the Coliseum. Looking towards the Arbiter of Time with seething eyes, she charged towards him. He had banished Lightning from the Coliseum illegally, and now had to pay. About the reach him, Snow stopped her by restraining her arms tightly, but not uncomfortably. Settling for screaming at her hostage holder, she held nothing back. She was too angry to care.

"You fiend, you unforgivable monster! What makes you think that you get to change the rules whenever you want? Huh? Lightning was nowhere near you, and you banished her! Bring her back you cheater, or you as useless as your rules apparently!" She was about to continue when she heard Snow sharply whisper her name to scold her. Deciding to send her best glare to the Arbiter of Time, the fatigue from the battle finally caught up with her and she collapsed into Snow arms. As Snow carried her over the bleachers, the Arbiter calmly replied.

"Team Ousted, I did not do anything to your teammate. She was pulled away by a strong force that I could not suppress, though I did my best to repel the force. I am already scanning all the Void and time for her. When I find her, I will bring her back." His flat tone only made Serah more angry. "Now, my staff will choose the next battle." And Snow watched as Team Defenders and Team PuPu were chosen. He watched as Amodar and Nabaat went into the ring, as an aircraft approached and let some PuPus down.

Nabaat had never been a nice person. She knew that they would eventually face the L'Cie and decided to rub it in about Lightning. She, of course, had no idea that her teammate was very fond of Lightning. Looking at Serah, who was laying against Snow as support, she made her move.

"If you ask me, the same fate will happen to you as well. Your pathetic friend was an enemy of the state, and received a just punishment. Since she was too weak to kill the villainous Pulse L'Cie Fang and Vanille, who caused the catastrophe, she deserved what happened. Fang and Vanille will forever be remembered as the worst flawed L'Cie in the history of L'Cie. The Fal'Cie really screwed them over, just like they did you two." Seeing her move had worked and both Serah and Snow wanted to kill her, she pulled out her weapon. "But for now, you may have another day to live, because I will greatly delight in destroying you down to your villainous and traitorous L'Cie core." Turning and casually walking to the center of the ring, they started the battle. Amodar knew that he would kill her the first chance he got. No one disrespected anyone other person like that, especially his favorite underling.

**Another Place in Valhalla**

Lightning awoke fully rested and powered. Looking around, the last thing she remembered was being in Valhalla and staring at the real one. Now she was alone. As she got up and oriented herself, she heard a battle. As she ran towards the railing, she indeed saw the real one conjuring a massive Aeroga. Except it wasn't only an Aeroga, but something different.

"CAIUS BALLAD! You will not succeed!" Claire was tired and drained, as was Caius. As Bladestorm died down, she ran towards her foe with a Ruin in her left hand and her gunblade preparing to strike in her right. Reaching Caius, she shot the Ruin then started attacking with her trusty sword. She didn't expect to receive healing. And as she saw Caius visibly frown at her unknown ally, she smiled. Her link had reactivated some time ago to the monster she had created to protect Serah in the Coliseum. If she ever killed Caius, the Arbiter of Time would be answering to her. She did not like what he had done. As she heard quiet footsteps (that only a demigoddess could here) approach, she charged to distract Caius.

**Coliseum**

Amodar was annoyed; he really didn't like Nabaat compared to Lightning. Nabaat wanted to have complete control, and having been ignored with all his strategies by Nabaat, he wanted to defeat these annoying blue creatures. Swinging his gun more tiredly now, the PuPu easily dodged. Looking at the PSICOM Commander, he tried one last time.

"We need to coordinate strategies! We're going to lose!" He desperately called. He had to survive until he could kill her. She once again ignored his suggestion and summoned her monsters. He decided to use Mediguard (without provoking the PuPu enemies) to recover his strength. Glad that he was ignored, he glanced over at the defeated Cieth to see they were seething and they're wings were an angry red once again, while from their thighs down they were crystallized. His eyes locked with Nadria and he was frozen…in fear. There was a blinding light white and when he opened his eyes, he saw the cieth completely crystallized and the PuPu ducking behind him for cover. Hearing a female scream, he looked over at Nabaat and gasped.

Serah and Snow blinked when the light dimmed, and as they opened their eyes they saw that Nadria and Huenva were completely crystallized as humans and Nabaat was screaming as cieth-like qualities appeared. After saying all the things about Lightning, Fang, and Vanille, and after Snow had told her about the memory from Kihel, she just blankly looked at what had happened, but that was all. There was no comprehension. Seeing the Arbiter of Time approach a quickly-ciething Nabaat, they both wondered what would happen.

**Flashback: Beginning of Crystal Stasis for Nadria and Huenva**

'What's going on? I can hear my own thoughts now. I have awareness. Where…am I anyway? This is creepy. Huenva, Kihel, were are you? Did we complete our focus? No, we were cieth right?'

'My thoughts are the same. The last thing I remember was watching the eye open all the way. This is freaky Nadria!'

They both felt their bodies changing slowly. They could feel their feet and toes that were crystallized. Once all their senses were fully regained, they heard a woman talking mean.

"Fang and Vanille will forever be remembered as the worst flawed L'Cie in the history of L'Cie. The Fal'Cie really screwed them over, just like they did you two." When they heard that, they directed all their focus on that woman. No one called the Heroes of Gran Pulse that! Nadria and Huenva were determined to punish her and keep their mom's names positive.

'You will pay for what you said!' They both thought at the same time. Now fully crystallized, the two sent the cieth curse to her. Hearing a satisfying scream as she slowly transformed, they smiled internally and began to fall asleep. Fully asleep but yet alert, they felt a familiar presence come closer.

**End Flashback, Present battle **

Once Nabaat was fully transformed, Amodar, Snow, Serah, and the Arbiter of Time watched as the crystals of Nadria and Huenva disappeared from view. Serah watched as Snow angrily fisted the seat beside him. He'd never be able to reunite the moms and children. The rest of the battle didn't last long.

The PuPu looked at Amodar for guidance. Now fully restored from the Mediguard, he ordered them to do a full charge while Nabaat was confused. Unleashing his special attack, while PuPu did their special attacks simultaneously, Nabaat flopped to the floor quickly. Being surrounded by stone, she was encased in stone.

**Valhalla, after a retreat by Caius**

'So I'm a copy?' Lightning asked Claire, who was resting while she kept a lookout. Once Caius had been fatally wounded (if he had been mortal) he'd retreated to somewhere within the empty city. 'But then why am I here? I have no idea.' Looking at Claire, Lightning frowned. She had known deep inside, but know it hurt knowing that it had been confirmed; she was only a monster. Just like a Behemoth King, she was no different. 'It isn't fair. Why am I alive?' Getting up and walking away from the original, Lightning pulled out Blazefire Saber. Looking at a fallen pillar, she started slashing and hacking, yelling as her rage consumed her. She threw many Thunder-family spells at said pillar. And once her rage was spent, Lightning curled up and cried. Once that didn't work, she started banging the crumbled pillar. She felt real, but she was a copy. It sucked.

Claire awoke to hear crying and banging. Sighing, the now-restored warrior made her way to Lightning. Looks like this had to be done. Taking a minute to observe Lightning, Claire thought of what to say.

Lightning slowly stood up, and as she turned around, she locked eyes with the original. And fear filled her eyes and she ran. Fast and quick. She had to get away after seeing just how powerful the original was. Seeing an aura that big was terrifying. Claire watched her run and once again sighed. Lightning surrounded her, and she merged with it as she chased Lightning. Reappearing in front of Lightning, she used some of the lightning to restrain the fearful copy.

"There was no reason for that, Lightning." Seeing the fear still in her eyes, she walked forward and hugged the scared child monster. Feeling Lightning relax a little, she removed the restrains gently. "I will not hurt you. I need you to protect Serah for me. I need to see she's okay and well. You were seriously injured in the last battle with Nadria, Huenva, and Kihel. Take it easy next time okay?" Letting the younger one process everything, she leaned back a little bit to examine Lightning. When Lightning saw this, she blushed. "Don't worry, what your feeling is normal; since I'm stronger than you, you immediately thought that I was going to hurt you." Seeing that Lightning was back at 100%, Claire stood both of them up. "Lightning, you need to rest in your crystal nightly. I can only bring you back here once more, but you'll be stuck here for good."

"So, I'm a copy?" Lightning asked, though her voice was very soft and desperate. Claire shook her head no. Putting a comforting hand on Light's shoulders, Claire explained.

"Not really. A true monster, like the Imps, can only do one class like a Commando or Ravager. I created you with all the abilities I could do before I got dragged here so that you could be independent. Plus, you have free thought and can do what you want. The things that I couldn't change about monsters is that you have enhanced senses, you must rest in a crystal form, and you have more…animal-like qualities. Remembering sensing Gilgamesh when he was under the Coliseum floor, and knowing the strategy of the cieth instantaneously? Things like that. You are you, and while you are your own person, you are still part of me. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah…I guess." Claire, seeing how down Lightning was, felt bad. But this was the only solution. "So, pretty much I'm your replacement while you're here?" Raising her eyebrow, Claire nodded.

"Sort of. But like I said, you are independent. I can control you, but so far I haven't felt the need to. Right now, Serah thinks that you are me. Only you know the truth." Squeezing her shoulder, Claire continued. "I'm about to send you back. But I must order you this, you are not to tell anyone what I've revealed to you. You are to keep this to yourself." Lightning felt something inside. "If you do tell anyone, I will have to punish you. Understood?" She nodded, about to speak when Claire beat her to it. "Also, tell that big oaf Snow that he better wait until he marries Serah otherwise he suffer the consequences." They both laughed at that. "Okay, off you go."

Seeing crystal surround her, Lightning watched as Claire waved her off as Caius came back. Valhalla disappeared, and eventually she reappeared in her room at the Coliseum. Looking around, she heard a female scream she knew to be Nabaat.

**Present Time: End of battle**

Amodar felt a sense of relief, but still was angry. He didn't get to kill her as he wanted, but she was now as good as dead. Once the battle was done, the Arbiter of Time effortlessly levitated Nabaat and moved her toward the basement.

Snow and Serah watched as the Arbiter of Time walked toward the middle. They wanted to find out what happened, as did Amodar. Speaking of which, Amodar had sat down with the PuPu surrounding him. They seemed fond of him. One even sat on his head, flopping its arms up and down playfully. He looked too tired to shoo them away. Serah would definitely tell this to Lightning when she found her. It was just too cute!

"What you just saw was a very rare phenomenon. It appears the focus of Nadria and Huenva was to turn Nabaat into a ceith, and thus release themselves from the curse. Now, onto the next battle!" Serah and Snow both furrowed their eyebrows as they heard the blunt explanation. He really didn't like to explain anything. Seeing the staff pick last tournament's champions, the BOOM-Bets, and Team Ultros. Then everyone saw the variety of bombs and an octopus make their way down to the center.

**End of chapter 3**

**Bonus Scene: Reunion**

Nadria and Huenva reemerged at their destination from the Coliseum, sensing two very powerful beings pulling their crystals toward them. Nadria was scared, as always, while Huenva was uncertain. These two were much more powerful than Kihel, and they had always depended on Kihel. Seeing crystal all around them, they felt their hands lay on top of two joined ones.

'Finally, its about time you two got here!' Huenva recognized that voice. 'We were starting to worry about you two!' Nadria also recognized it. The voice of her mother's best friend, Fang.

'Mom? Is it really you?' Huenva was cautious. He remembered his mom as being very intimidating. 'Where are we?'

'Hehe, you're inside the crystal pillar that holds up Cocoon.' Nadria felt happiness when she heard Vanille pipe up. 'We saw the fight you had in the Coliseum and are so proud that you changed back.'

'MOMMY!' If Nadria wasn't crystallized, she would have run and hugged her.

The two felt their minds join their moms, and suddenly felt free. Opening their eyes, they saw their moms walking toward them, arms stretched out to receive them. Nadria was already sprinting to Vanille, and Huenva did the same towards Fang. They tightly hugged them, after so many centuries of being apart.

"Look at ya, you've become as strong as an oretise!" Huenva couldn't help but blush as Fang gave him the biggest Gran Pulse compliment. She laughed as she hugged her son again, glad to have him back.

"Oh Nadria, you've grown so much! But you look like you haven't eaten in a while. What did I tell you about dieting?" Although she was using a mocking voice, it turned into a full blown laugh as Nadria went "MOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" Fang was laughing as well. "Oh come here, I haven't held you in centuries. I want to know everything I've missed!"

"Me too, Huenva. Tell me everything." The four sat in a circle as the kids started to tell what had happened. Fang and Vanille excitedly and eagerly listened, happy to have their kids back.

"Thank Etro, she must've free you both and brought you here." Fang stated after hearing more detail about the fight with Light, Snow, and Serah.

'Actually Fang, I did. Etro's still sleeping.' Claire smirked as she cast Bladestorm.

**That's a wrap on chapter 3. Hope you liked it.**

**AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW. I CAN'T GET BETTER IF NO ONE TELLS ME WHAT I'M DOING WRONG HEHE.**


	4. Answers a little bit

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy.**

**Note: A lot of background and 'cleaning up' will be done in this chapter. **

**Tournament of the Brave, Chapter 4**

Lightning slowly walked out of her room, still processing what Claire had told her. She also knew exactly what had happened to Nabaat, even though she hadn't seen it. The PSICOM commander had been turned into a ceith without being made an L'Cie. If she ever did go to Valhalla again, she would ask Claire about that. It just didn't seem normal. As she turned the corner and started to go upstairs, she paused on a step as she felt Claire send her some memories. Feeling crystal surround her, she once again disappeared from the Coliseum physically, even though she hadn't left again. Closing her eyes and resting, the memories started.

_**Flashback: Plains of Gran Pulse (End of Final Fantasy 13)**_

_ Darkness. Darkness was everywhere. I looked up and found the sun had been covered by the dust-like particles. Looking at my sister and fellow comrades, fear gripped me as I saw that they were starting to fade away. Beginning to run, I heard myself gasp as the ground opened me up and swallowed me whole. Feeling the darkness wrap around me, and eventually not being able to break free from it, I gave in and was dragged through space and time. Eventually, I fell asleep._

_ As I awoke, I could feel something guiding me towards a hidden temple. Cautiously walking towards it, I felt my head hurt as I saw Serah and everyone else on the plains still. Feeling bad as I heard them wonder where I was, and seeing Serah's pained look, I knew I had to get back to her. I had to protect her from the horrors of Gran Pulse that I knew existed. Finally reaching the hidden temple, I went in and saw a floating crystal throne. Perplexed that no one else was here, my head started to hurt as I finally received some answers. I closed my eyes as my head got many broken images in it. A dead world. A man crying as his young silver-haired ward suddenly died on him. A young man holding two swords that was slaying a baby behemoth. As suddenly as they appeared, more came and replaced them. Cocoon falling and killing millions instantaneously. So many dying of hunger after Cocoon fell. And ultimately, Gran Pulse being blown up and no longer existing. _

_ As I fell on my knees, I felt tears roll down my cheeks. Seeing a ghostly image appear, I felt fear creep into my exhausted limbs. Was I here to die slowly and painfully? As the image neared me, its hand reached out and touched my cheek. I felt very comforted and at peace once it did. This image meant me no harm._

_ "Claire, I need your help. Please stay here and protect the future. I freed you and your loved ones from the crystal that imprisoned you. Nevertheless, I cannot repair the damage that was caused. Please, stay here and let me rest. My powers have dwindled and faded, as you can see, and if Caius Ballad manages to kill me, your sister will also die Claire. I brought you here to ask you to protect humanity. Protect them from the one who wants to kill everything like Barthandelous wanted. There is another who is stronger and he will eventually kill Serah. Please stay, and kill him here. I don't know where right now, but he is here. That much I do know." I watched as she panted for a breath. Nodding my acceptance, she smiled as I felt myself changing. _

_ My heart no longer was beating quickly. Instead, my heart was beating once or twice a day. My arms and legs were not only more powerful, but also quicker and deadlier. Seeing new armor replace my old Guardian Corps uniform, I closed my eyes as I felt the image merge with me and rest inside my heart. As we fully merged, I learned she was Etro, the goddess of Death. Sensing new powers, and seeing a never-ending battle about to begin, I quickly began to build a custom eidolon monster. While she wouldn't be as strong as Odin would, she would be self-sustaining and wouldn't know anything. As her power would fade over time, then I would tell her everything. I began to make Lightning so she could protect Serah for me. _

_ Three days passed and Lightning was ready. Giving her all the memories I had up until Valhalla, I sent her back in time to when I was brought here. I would be the only one who knew I was here. Serah would finally be happy. Smiling bitterly, I knew that the next time I would see Lightning; I would be fighting Caius to protect Etro. However, that would be about three years from now._

_**End Flashback**_

Serah watched the fight begin, though she wasn't really watching it. She had a feeling Lightning was okay. But ever since that day on the plains when Cocoon fell, something had been off. She closed her eyes and began to rest against Snow.

_**Flashback: End of Final Fantasy 13**_

_ I couldn't believe it! Lightning and Snow were getting along and even laughing. I had heard it through my crystal tear that Snow kept, but to see it was so much better! Going up to them, we did a group hug as I heard Snow continue on about the wedding. In addition, once Light said 'I believe you. Congrats.' it felt like everything was right. We started to walk towards the landing evacuations from Cocoon. Light was hanging back with Hope, a smile on her face. I turned and happily looked toward my fiancée Snow, walking with my arm around his waist. Turning back, I saw only Hope. Fear gripped me as I broke the hug and ran towards Hope._

_ "What happened to Light? Where is she?" Hope looked confused then behind him. Everyone was looking, but there was no sign on her. "LIGHT! WHERE ARE YOU?" Looking at Snow as I felt tears begin to stream down my cheeks, he looked sympathetic._

_ "Serah, she's holding up Cocoon along with Fang and Vanille. We already knew this, remember?" Confusion raced inside my body. _

_ "What do you mean? She was standing right here a minute ago! She even gave us her blessing to get married! Don't you remember?" Everyone around me looked sympathetic and sad. What was I missing?_

_ "Serah, let's get some rest. You must be tired." Snow said in a tone I recognized not to argue with. _

_ A few days passed and Lightning reappeared out of the blue on the plains. I had gone out early that morning when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I yelled at the person to go away. Everyone thought I was crazy, saying that Light was indeed not in the pillar but had been here with us. Even Snow looked at me as if I didn't know what I was talking about. I didn't want to be comforted. I only wanted to be alone right now. Everyone was making me angry!_

_ "That's not nice to say." That voice. Snapping my eyes up, they locked with their twins that my sister had. "It's dangerous to be out here, Serah. Come back to camp." Dumbly nodding, I followed. What was happening? Once we got back, I expected everyone to ask where she'd been. Instead, they all acted as though the past three days she'd been there the whole time. I didn't know what was going on, but I started to doubt everything. Maybe, it was a side effect of being a crystal?_

_**End Flashback.**_

Snow watched as Ultros summoned a new opponent to the field. Wondering what was going to happen next, he recalled when he'd been really worried about Serah. For some reason, he just couldn't concentrate on the battle. Maybe it was because Serah had a frown on her face as she rested. Like she was remembering something.

_**Flashback: New Bodhum, 001 AF**_

_ I walked into NORA House to see Serah fidgeting in her sleep badly. I couldn't explain it, but she'd been having nightmares a lot lately. As I walked over to comfort her, my eyes sharply turned when I felt something. I couldn't explain it, but when I saw it was just Lightning, I shrugged my shoulders. She was standing there looking impassive at Serah, though I knew she was worried. As she sighed and walked to complete her rounds, I heard Serah mumbling._

_ 'Come on baby, tell me what's wrong. I can't fix anything if I don't know what's wrong.' As much as I wanted to say it aloud, I knew better than to wake her._

_ "Light...where are you...want to see you..." I didn't understand, she saw Light every day. But now she was talking like she hadn't seen her in a year. "Disappeared on plains...come back home...get out of city..." Her face was breaking my heart. Poor Serah. Did she really still believe that her sister had disappeared? I didn't understand it, but I knew Serah would tell me when the time was right._

_**End Flashback**_

Ultros was now applying many buffs to Typhon, while the various bombs that made up the BOOM-Bets were keeping each other strong by attacking in groups. When the fire-types attacked, they also healed each other. Same with the ice-types. Snow and Serah (who was now barely awake) watched the two main groups of bombs alternated, so their strengths wouldn't weaken the other ones.

Serah looked down at Mog, who was sitting in her lap. She remembered when Noel had appeared and given it to her, saying he didn't need it. The little bat-like creature had never said anything other than 'Kupo'. She still couldn't believe that Noel was really gone. Serah and Noel were on their way back from the Archlyte Steppe with the Black Hole Gem when they'd been brought here. She now wondered if Mog was going to disappear on her too. She hoped not, she always felt like Mog had been an important gift from someone, but she didn't know who. It was just her intuition.

Fully waking up as the bombs finally defeated Typhon, Snow and Serah giggled slightly as all the fire-bombs started to literally barbeque Ultros by attacking rapidly in succession. Ultros started to turn red and run toward the ice-bombs. Thwarting their strategy, Ultros was the ultimate loser as all the bombs formed a circle around him and moved quickly. Doing their special attacks, all the bombs began to move around, beside, over, and even tried to move where he was. Unleashing all their attacks at once, first they soaked the octopus, then warmed him to steaming temperature, and finally blew up, dealing massive damage. Ultros curled up in death, as the bombs reappeared and healed themselves up to full. As they were declared the victor, the bombs and everyone else were relieved when the Arbiter announced that there would be no more matches today. Serah and Snow smiled at each other as they got up and went to their rooms, which were beside each other.

"Hey Serah, wanna come over and talk? I know Light's still on your mind." She knew he was right as she nodded. "I'll even try to cook for a change." Even though he was laughing, he didn't see that Serah gave him a confused look.

'What's he talking about, he always cooks for me? Maybe he's just trying to cheer me up; he knows how much I love his cooking.' Brushing it off as that, she joined his laughter. They went to his room as she sat on his bed. 'He's always trying to cheer me up when he knows I'm down. That's my hero!' Taking her ponytail down, she watched as he raided the fridge for something to eat.

"Do you have any pickles in your fridge? I thought I had some in here, but I don't see them now." Getting up and opening the door, she fell back in shock as another familiar pinkette stood there. As he went to see what had happened, he locked eyes with Lightning.

"Oh, sorry Serah. I saw you two come in here and came to join you. You okay?" Lightning went to pick her up, but as she did Serah surprised them by bolting up and hugging Light, tears starting to pour. "Serah, it's okay. I know that you were worried about me. Let me come in and tell you what happened." Walking both of them back, all three sat at the table with sandwiches that Snow had made. He wanted answers like Serah, and for once was quiet. "Well, once the battle ended with the ceith, I was transported somewhere and cared for. I learned that we have to win this Tournament to be set free, or otherwise we'll be trapped here until we do win. And the Tournament is quiet small compared to other times. The Arbiter of Time is more than he appears, but I have no idea what. In addition, once we are free, we are still bound. The champion team has to come back every year to defend their title. It's a huge paradox that never ends." As she paused to take a breath, Snow furrowed his eyebrows at the information.

"So pretty much its we win and are free until the next Tournament and if we lose we are confined here." Slamming his fist on the table, Serah looked mortified at the revelation. "Did you learn how to earn our freedom for good?"

"No, while I was learning all this we were attacked by her enemy. She sent me back here quickly and moved to defend." Pushing some hair behind her ear, she smelled new tears from Serah, whose head was down. "Serah, it's okay. I refuse to be bound to something. You know that." Hearing her sister laugh, she gently rubbed Serah's back. "Me and this big oaf you chose to marry saved the world, remember? This Tournament is nothing compared to stopping Cocoon falling into Gran Pulse." The sisters laughed as Snow frowned.

"Big...oaf? Really? You think I'm a big oaf?" His pouting frown sent the two over the edge with laughter. After a minute, both pinkettes were rolling on the floor laughing. He was just too cute and funny with his face.

"Sorry Snow...you're expression...too funny!" Serah cried out. Looking in the mirror, he didn't agree. Deciding to sit and watch, he eventually smiled at Serah's happy face. She looked so beautiful right now.

"Hey, I think you can stop laughing now! It's been ten minutes already." Instead of stopping them, he only made it worse. Feeling a scowl form, he decided to leave and change into pajamas. Their laughing was at his expense, and he'd have no more part of it. 'Oh boy, they're gonna be laughing all night at this point. Great.' As he fully changed and headed back out, Lightning had finally stopped laughing and was trying to get Serah to stop as well.

"Serah, stop it...that's enough...great now I'm laughing again!" However, Serah just couldn't stop. Her fiancée had finally given her something cheerful to think about, and she didn't want to lose it. "Serah! Stop already!"

"No...Too funny!" Was the only thing she said. Snow and Lightning finally shrugged their shoulders and left her there. Sitting on the couch, Lightning saw the seriousness in Snow's eyes. Something was on his mind.

"Lightning, where did you go?" Raising an eyebrow, she knew that even under that goofy exterior, he was still a fierce warrior who was loyal to Serah. "You're story is just too mysterious to me." She smiled, having been warned about Snow from Claire.

_**Flashback: Valhalla**_

_"Oh, and Lightning, while Snow seems like the one we were with on our journey, he is from an alternate timeline. Just like us, his memories are the same up until Cocoon fell. If he doubts you, just tell him to shut it or face the consequences. Just don't tell Serah. She's got enough on her shoulders already."_

_**End flashback.**_

"Snow, if you doubt its really me, then fight me so I can shut you up. Either shut it or face the consequences." Mimicking Claire at that point, it worked. Snow smiled and nodded, getting up to go check on Serah. Seeing that it worked, she got up as well. "Alright, I think I'm turning in. We all need a good night's sleep for tomorrow." The others nodded their agreement as well.

The next morning in the Coliseum, Lightning awoke from her crystal to find her room tossed. Furrowing her eyebrows, she remembered what Claire had said...taking a deep breath, she recognized the scent. Smiling and even laughing, she would get Serah good. Messiness was not her middle name, and that's what her room was right now. Serah must've awoke in the middle of the night and come to her for comfort. Some things never changed. Sighing, she thought and her clothes changed from her comfortable pajamas to her uniform. She wondered if she could wear Claire's armor, it looked really cool, but hadn't tried it. Just as she finished 'changing', she heard Serah scream.

"You are weak. There is no way that you will stay here to the end. I think I'll go ahead and banish you to the Void Beyond." Serah was stunned as a light surrounded her and she disappeared from the Coliseum. She could hear herself screaming, but now was drifting aimlessly through the Void Beyond. Crying as she wondered, she noticed out of nowhere the familiar circular structures of the Historia Crux reappeared, these were different a little. She'd never seen these.

Claire was furious. The Arbiter of Time would answer to her, and being Etro's guardian and sustainer, he would not escape.

**That's all for Chapter 4. Remember to Review!**

**Nam**


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